I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
by asirnay
Summary: While recovering from chicken pox, Callie is comforted by Arizona and her closest friends. My take on what occurred shortly after episode 6.12
1. Chapter 1

I woke up, pleasantly surprised that Arizona was still laying in the hospital bed with me. We were spooning, as we would normally do back home in our own bed. I would've worried if she was comfortable, but Arizona slept like a rock. Her limp arm was still draped over my waist. I slowly reached for her left hand with my gauze paw. As I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb, I felt her inhale deeply. She stretched her arms outward as she exhaled. Propping herself with her right arm, she placed her left hand back in mine. I looked over my shoulder and had a chance to lose myself, gazing into her sea blue eyes. Her dimples revealed themselves as she smiled.

"Hey, you". Arizona forward and greeted me with a kiss.

"Hey, yourself."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept pretty good. Even better since you spent the night here with me. I feel like I should be asking you that. This bed is only but so big."

"Don't worry about me. You're the patient."

"I'm surprised I didn't scare you away. I was acting like a total brat."

"You could never scare me away, Calliope. Little Grey, on the other hand, is a whole 'nother story." We both giggled.

"Aw, poor thing. All she was trying to do was help. And I went and unleashed The Wrath Of God on her."

"It's true what they say, that doctors sometimes make the worst patients."

"Oh, really. We'll see how you feel about that the next time you're sick."

What I said must've struck a nerve. Arizona was notoriously silent.

"Soooo..." Clearly, she was desperate to change the subject. "How's the itching?"

"Not as bad as yesterday. But still annoying and persistent."

"I've got a quick remedy for that."

Arizona sat up and gently moved my body forward so that my back was completely facing her. Her hands gracefully rubbed my shoulders in a circular motion, working their way downward, and back up again. If Arizona had missed her calling as a peds surgeon, she would've made one hell of a masseuse. She managed to outdo Mark's rubdown from the day before.

"Does that feel any better?"

"Yessss." I let out a moan that was sure to have anyone passing by my room to do a double take. "Whatever you do, please don't stop." I knew saying that was futile, but it felt so good getting a reprieve from what felt like an army of ants crawling all over me.

I felt Arizona's smiling beaming at me as she continued. Suddenly, an all too familiar sound caused my massage to grind to a screeching halt.

I let out an exasperated sigh after sucking my teeth. "It never fails."

"911 page. I'm so sorry, Calliope."

"No need to apologize. Go ahead and save some lives."

"I promise I'll come and check on you as often as I can, okay?"

"Okay."

She leaned forward to plant a long, lingering kiss, intended to last me until she was able to return.

"Love you." It was so cute the way she said those three words. It made me melt every single time.

"Love you back." Looking over my shoulder, I managed to catch one last glimpse of Arizona and her dimples before she headed out of my room. She glided out of my line of sight on her heelies, towards the nearest elevator.

If there was anything good about being laid up in a hospital bed with the chicken pox is getting to watch movies all day. I hadn't seen "Definitely, Maybe" since it had been in theaters. Seeing it the second time around was a totally different experience. I found myself paying less and less attention to Ryan Reynolds, and more on his female co-stars. Rachel Weisz, in particular. As much as I love Arizona, I would've traded places with Ryan's character in a heartbeat. Especially that in scene where Rachel sang to him. She looked so gorgeous in that red dress.

As I was trying to watch the movie, I was distracted by the sound of someone smacking their lips as they were eating. It was the most irritating sound known to man, besides raking fingernails across a blackboard. I stared daggers at the culprit guilty of creating such a disturbance: my wonderful roommate, Cristina Yang. Arizona brought me a box full of comfort food, courtesy of our nearby Dunkin Donuts. Since I was still rocking the gauze paws, she fed one to me before she had to head off to surgery. Cristina helped herself to a glazed, layered with frosting and sprinkles. She kept me company during her lunch break.

"Jesus, Yang. Is the donut that good?"

"Relax, I'm finished." Instead of using a napkin, like civilized people, Cristina wiped her mouth off with the sleave of her lab coat. I knew first hand what it must've been like for Felix Unger while he was living with Oscar Madison. "Besides, you can't possibly be that into this movie. It's so boring."

"Whatever."

Sometimes, I wonder how she and I had been roommates for so long and not strangled each other yet. We had very little in common. But when it was all said and done, I couldn't have found any more loyal a friend.

"Callie?" Cristina once again diverted my attention from the movie.

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

I aimed the remote at the TV set hanging from the ceiling, pressing the power button to turn it off. Yang was determined not to let me watch my movie in peace. The hospital always ran the same thing over and over in a continuous loop. I would have the chance to ogle Rachel Weisz and her curves some other time.

"Go ahead. Shoot."

"If you had a choice between love and surgery, which would you choose?"

Immediately, I began to laugh.

"Never mind." Cristina sprang up from her seat, heading straight towards the sliding door. "I'll leave you to your precious movie."

"Cristina, wait!" I had never seen her react so sensitively before. She must've been dead ass serious. "Have a seat."

She stood near the door for a moment before she sat back down in the chair in the corner.

"I didn't mean to laugh at you. It's just that, your question made me think of my last surgery before I got sick. I was doing a knee replacement on Tom Cates, the quarterback. I had Karev and one of the residents from Mercy West. You know the one that looks like an elf with the big moonbeam eyes? I can't even think of her name. Well anyway, the both of them were anxious to grab a scalpel and just dive right in. All I could think about was Tom and his career being over, while those two were knit picking over something so trivial. I told them that there was more to life than just surgery. Don't get me wrong. I love my job. I can't imagine doing anything else. But, if it came down to choosing between love and surgery? I'd chose love, without hesitation."

"You would?"

"Hmph. You don't know me very well, do you?"

"I figured with all you've been through, with George and with Erica, it would've left you a little jaded towards love."

"It did. For a while. But, look at me now. I'm in the most stable relationship I've ever been in. If I hadn't gone through all that bullshit before, I don't know if I would've been ready for Arizona when she came along. And I don't know what's going to happen 5, 10 or even 50 years from now, but I hope and pray that she's a part of it."

"You love her that much?"

"I do. I most certainly do." I slowly nodded my head to emphasize my point. My eyes nearly welled up just thinking about how much she meant to me. "What's this all about anyway? Something to do with you and Owen?"

"I almost did something stupid. I did do something stupid."

"What? What happened?"

"Well for starters, Teddy has a thing for Owen."

"Seriously? She just got here and already, she's starting some shit."

"I picked up on it right away. I saw them eye-fucking each other at Meredith's Christmas dinner. I confronted Owen about it. I don't know if that was the right thing to do. It was more or less coming more from her end than his."

"Man, I really was starting to like her. Her and Arizona seem to get along pretty good, too."

"You're dating Li'l Miss Sunshine. She's supposed to like everybody."

"Watch it, Yang."

"Come on. It was just a joke." I gave her a glare to let her that she was still treading on thin ice. She sighed in forfeit. "Anyway, Teddy couldn't handle having feelings for Owen and not being able to act upon them. So, she decided to throw in the towel. Ever since Burke left, I had been struggling to find someone to teach me cardio. We weren't able to woo Dixon over here. And even if we did, her having Asperger's would've been tough to deal with on a daily basis. I'm not even gonna go there about Hahn."

"Thank you very much."

"When Teddy came along, I wanted to soak up everything she knew like a sponge. She was willing to teach me." There was a tremble in her voice that became more evident the longer she talked. "She was willing to teach me, Callie. For months, I thought I was wasting my time here. When she came, I felt like I had a purpose all over again." Yang took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "I didn't want to lose that feeling. I was willing to step aside and give up Owen so that I wouldn't go back to feeling lost again."

"Cristina. What...why would you do that? He's your boyfriend. You just don't trade somebody off like a baseball card. And Teddy's not the last cardio surgeon in the world. If it doesn't work out, you can always find another teacher."

Yang sat at the edge of the chair, looking downward. Her silence scared me.

"I don't deserve him. As wonderful as he's been to me, I don't deserve him." She finally made eye contact again. "I kissed another guy."

"Really?" I was dumbfounded by her revelation. This is something she probably never even shared with Meredith.

"Yeah. After Arizona's surprise party went bust, Jackson kissed me."

"Those Mercy West kids are nothing but troublemakers, too."

"I should've seen it coming. He follows me around like a little, lost puppy dog."

"Cristina, it's not your fault. You can't help it if he has a crush on you. There's no need to punish yourself over something you have no control over."

"I didn't push him away. I don't even like this guy, but I actually enjoyed kissing him. Maybe it was all in my head. Owen and I were going through one of our rough patches. I wanted to tell him what happened. But, I was afraid he would've went all G.I. Joe on that kid. "

The sliding door opened as I began to giggle. In stepped Lexie, with her arms folded mysteriously behind her back. This was the first time I saw since I kicked her out of my room. Maybe she was coming back to kill me in my vulnerable state.

"Dr. Yang, Dr. Altman was looking for you. She said it was really important."

Cristina smirked at me, to which I responded with shrugged shoulders. She sprang out of her seat once again, patting me slightly on the arm. "I'll stop by before I leave for the day to see if you need anything."

"Thanks."

Lexie watched as Yang made her exit. She turned towards me wearing that goofy grin that Mark found so endearing.

"So, what's up?"

"I have some good news. Arizona said I can finally relieve you of you gauze paws." She unfolded her arms from behind her, brandishing a pair of scissors. Normally, I would've been nervous at such a sight. But in that instant, I felt like a leprechaun discovering a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

"Awww. You're the best, Little Grey. Oops, I mean Lexie." She smiled when I called her by real name.

I placed my gauze paws on the hospital tray as Lexie sat down beside me on the bed. Gently, she began to cut, starting near my right wrist where the gauze was bound the tightest. As she pulled it off my hand, I relished feeling the air touch my skin again. I looked at each of my fingers as if seeing them for the first time.

"May I?"

"Oh! Of course." Lexie placed the scissors in my hand.

Immediately, I snipped away, not showing one once of caution that Lexie just did. I could've cared less. The paw had to come off, ASAP.

"Careful." Lexie's eyes widened as she watched me hack away at the gauze. "You don't want to knick your hand."

"You sound like my mother."

"Cristina said the same thing. I was venting to her about Sloan. N-not Mark Sloan, but..."

I pulled off the other gauze paw as I giggled. I felt like a free woman. "I knew what you meant."

Lexie let out a slight sigh in relief. "Oh! I have something else for you." She stirred around in her lab coat pocket. "Ta-Da!"

In her hand was a bottle of black nail polish.

"You're just too much today."

"Once again, don't thank me. Thank your girlfriend." Just hearing her say that brought a smile to my face. "Besides, I figured it would give us a chance to talk."

"Before you say anything, Lexie, I am so sorry for kicking you out of my room. I was acting like such a diva. Even with chicken pox, it's no excuse."

"I understand." Little Grey unscrewed the cap off and began applying a fresh coat of polish, starting with my right pinky. "I mean, I get it. I get that you were upset with me. And not just because of you having chicken pox. What I did, it hurt Mark's feelings. And you being his best friend...and you being more than best friends at one point...I'm not surprised that you would take his side."

"I'm not taking his side."

"It's okay that you are. I deserve it."

"Lexie, stop it." She wore that classic deer in the headlights look. "Just stop it okay. You had your reasons for ending your relationship with Mark. Whatever happened with Karev, happened after you two broke up. It's not like you cheated. You're an adult. Start acting like one. Both of you."

A look washed over her face, as she realized that the aftermath of a break-up isn't so black and white.

"You know what's crazy? He's mad at me for sleeping with Alex. Yet, he goes off to L.A. and sleeps with Addison the first chance he gets."

Motherfucker! I told him not to tell her. I made myself specifically clear. Do. Not. Tell. Lexie. And he does the exact opposite. If he wasn't my best friend, I would've celebrated that telling her blew up in his face.

Little Grey looked over at me, probably wondering why I had been so silent. "Wait a minute. You knew, didn't you? He told you. Of course, he told you. Wh-why wouldn't he tell you? He tells you everything."

"Lexie..."

"You know what. I..." She quickly stood up. "I'm gonna go."

"Lexie, wait!" No such luck. She couldn't have left any faster. It was moments like that which made me question what Mark ever saw in her. Not that I didn't like her. Little Grey was very sweet and thoughtful. But on the other hand, she could be such a spaz case. Lexie must have serious mojo going on. She accomplished what no other woman was able to. Not even Addison was able to tame the manwhore.

I was listening to "Little Pieces" by Gomez on my iPhone. The first time I had Arizona over at my place, she and I danced to it. We had such a blast that night. As if right on cue, she entered through the sliding door, holding a small bag in her hand. I couldn't help but smile when I laid eyes on her. Before flopping right next to me on the bed, Arizona pulled back the curtains to give us some privacy.

"Aw, you're playing our song." She put her arm around me, allowing me to snuggle close to her. A peck on the cheek made me smile even wider. "Feeling any better?"

"Still feeling a little itchy. And tired. I feel like I ran the New York Marathon twice in one day."

"Hmm." Gently sweeping hair from my face, Arizona pressed her cheek against my forehead. "You're still a bit kind of worries me."

"Well, what about you? Do you feel like you're coming down with it too?"

"Mmm. Nope. So far, so good." She let out what sounded like a nervous chuckle. Maybe, I read too much into that. Being isolated for hours at a time had made me over analyze every little thing. "You've been here almost the whole week. Maybe, we'll keep you here one more day, see if we can get that fever down and then you can finish recovering at home. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan. Soooo, what's in the bag?"

Arizona reached over to the tray and grabbed the plastic bag by its handles. "This is for you, from Dr. Bailey."

Reaching into the bag, I pulled out a small metallic jar. "Shea butter? What am I supposed to do with this?"

"She said it's for your skin. It'll help restore your lovely complexion and also with the itching. She used it while she was pregnant to prevent stretch marks."

"Oookay." Arizona's face dropped from the uncertainty that I carried in my voice. "Well, let's give it a shot."

"Super!" Her expression perked up immediately.

I lifted up my hospital gown, exposing my back and shoulders, before I laid down on my stomach. Arizona climbed on top of me, her legs straddling my waist. After opening the jar, she scooped a bit of shea butter with her fingertips. She dabbed it on to both of her palms before she began gently massaging it into my back. A kiss planted on my neck sent a shiver down my spine. It took my mind off the fact that I actually let my girlfriend slather Bailey's wacky home remedy all over me.

"Calliope?" She finally broke silence after a few minutes into my massage.

"Yeah?" I looked over my shoulder when she didn't respond. "What? What's wrong?"

"Never mind. It's nothing." The fact that she flashed her megawatt smile at me did little to ease my concern.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, let me get this straight. She's in peds, but she never had the chicken pox?" The nasally voice on the other end of the phone belonged to none other than my bestest friend in the whole wide world. Before Arizona, before Cristina and Mark, there was Addison Forbes Montgomery. "Well, I guess it's possible. Is she alright? She didn't get sick too, did she?"

"No, she's fine. She's been taking good care of me. And when she can't be here, she'll rally up the troops to keep me company."

"Aww, that is so sweet. Can I just say that you seemed so much happier the last time I came to visit."

"Thank you. I am happier."

"You were practically glowing. I am so jealous! Does she have any brothers you could hook me up with?"

"Well, she did. But he died in Iraq."

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"And her other brother is way too young for you. They'll put your ass under the jail if you even went there."

"Before we go any further, I'm sure you've heard. Me. Mark. Twice. Let me have it and don't hold back."

"Addison, I'd be a HUGE hypocrite if I did yell at you about Mark"

"I don't know, Cal. I don't know what is that he has over me. It's like he's like my Kryptonite or something. One minute of exposure and I get all weak in the knees. Next thing you know, my panties are flying off faster than a speeding bullet." I just so happened to be taking a sip of water when she said that. Needless to say, water spewed everywhere as I erupted into laughter.

"Thank you for laughing at my drama filled life. I feel soooo much better."

"I'm sorry, Addie..." I continued to giggle incessantly, until I snorted. "...but that was the funniest thing I've heard you say. EVER!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ha ha ha." Her voice sounded flat and dry. I kept right on snickering until I thought I heard Addie sniffling.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't get it. What's wrong with me?" She was definitely crying. "I mean, I...I'm a successful woman. I'm world renown surgeon, for Christ's sake. And yet somehow, my love life is a car wreck."

"Addie..." I could definitely relate to her pain. I was feeling the exact same way until Arizona found me and swept me off my feet. I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. But, I don't think anything I had to say would have helped. She just needed to be heard.

"Mark told me he was thinking about moving here..."

"He did?" He never mentioned that to me. The fact that Addie was in tears was now probably had something to do with it.

"Yeah. The night before I operated on Sloan, we were sitting out on the patio at my house. He seemed so different from the Mark I knew all these years. It was like finding out he was a father finally brought out the man in him."

"Yeah, he's all grown up now. Hell, I witnessed the change in him myself, and I still can't believe it. He was like the world's oldest frat boy, trying to fuck anything that moves." The fact that she laughed at my remark made my heart hurt less for her. Then, it sank again once I heard her resume crying.

"Why couldn't he have been this good when we were together back in New York? We...we could've had a family now. I...I could've been a mother. A mother! Now, I screwed it all up and myself infertile."

"Addie..." I was damn near on the verge of tears myself. "Addie, you can't beat yourself up for what happened back then. Things...they happen for a reason."

"Yeah. The reason is that God is punishing me for having an abortion."

I winced when she said that. Bad choice of words, Cal.

"You know what's the worst part? He painted this picture of us being a family. Me, him, Sloan, Sloan's baby. And then, he took it all back. You know why? He's still in love with Lexie! God, what was I thinking? Going up against another woman named Grey! I was bound to lose!"

I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. The flood gates were definitely open. "Addie, if I were there, I'd give you a huge hug right now. And wouldn't let go until you stopped crying."

"Thank you. Thank you, Cal. God, I miss you so much."

"I miss you, too."

"Please come and visit me, okay? And bring Arizona. She'd love it down here."

"I will. I promise."

"That's what you said the last time I brought it up. Come on. Even Bailey came to visit and she never takes anytime off."

"I am. I mean, we will. Seriously."

"I'm gonna keep pestering you 'til you both show up at my doorstep."

"I know you will." We shared a laugh before we both said our good byes and hung up. Having the conversation end on a somewhat lighter note made me feel better, even though I knew a dark cloud would be hovering over Addie for quite awhile.

As I walked out of the bathroom back to my hospital bed, I couldn't resist the urge to scratch a persistent itch on my neck. The gauze paws were off. Arizona was in the middle of surgery. There was no one or no thing around to stop me.

"Uh uh uh uh". A deep baritone voice from came the corner of the room. Quickly, I turned my head to find Mark sitting in the chair, wearing that trademark smirk of his. "You should know by now that scratching will leave a scar. And I'm pretty sure Blondie won't find that sexy."

"Hmmph." I rolled my eyes at him before I climbed back into bed.

"What?"

"You know, I should kick your fuckin' ass right now!" My angry tone knocked that smirk right off his face. "Or better yet. I wish you never had chicken pox at all, so you could catch it too!"

"Torres! What the hell is the matter with you? Why are you so upset with me?"

"I talked to Addison today. She gave me a little more insight as to what happened when you took Sloan down there for her surgery." The gravity of what he had done made him sink down into his seat. "How could you play on her emotions like that? She is a mess right now!"

"I didn't mean to."

"But you did!"

"If I could take it back, I would, Torres!"

"But, you can't! You just can't! What's done is done!"

We both sat in silence. Mark leaned forward in the chair, looking down on the floor. His hands were folded tightly together. Suddenly, he sprang up, reaching in his pocket to retrieve his Blackberry.

"I'll call her. I'm gonna make this right."

"I don't think that would be a good idea. At least, not right now."

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "You're right. Now probably wouldn't be such a good time."

"Yeah. Just give her some space."

"I guess it's safe to say that chapter of my life...my relationship with Addison, it's closed for good. Everything I said, about me and her becoming a family, with Sloan and the baby...I had to take it back. I didn't want to. But, I had to. There's another chapter in my life now. A new one that I started with Lexie. And I know we're not together right now. But I don't know if we're finished either. And it wouldn't be fair to Addison if we got back together while I'm still in love with somebody else. She's been down that road once before, with Derek. I just wish I didn't have to break her heart again."

My scowl turned into a slight grin.

"Now what?"

"Well, look at you being all mature."

"I know, right? Me of all people. Scary, ain't it."

"Yeah well, I'm proud of you." My smile grew even wider at my best friend "But, you're still a knucklehead, though."

"Yeah. That's true." His brow quickly furrowed. "Hey, stop that!"

He caught me in mid-scratch. "I'm still itching!" I whined like a five year old. I wasn't proud of it. But, I felt so helpless. The chicken pox nearly ran its course. My complexion was starting to clear, partly in thanks to Bailey's shea butter. But that didn't mean that the pox was going away without a fight. Especially the ones in between my butt cheeks.

"My magic fingers still got the remedy."

"No." Mark paused as I put my hand up. "I can't let you do that."

"What? Blondie had a problem with me giving you a massage?"

"She didn't say anything. But, I could tell it bugged her a little bit. I felt like such a bad girlfriend for allowing you to do that. She gave me three massages since I've been here."

"Hmmm."

"What?"

"I don't know. It just seems like she's overcompensating for something."

And that's when it hit me.

"You really don't have to this." As surgeon who works at Seattle Grace-Mercy West, it was kind of embarrassing to be escorted out of the hospital in a wheelchair after I was discharged. I didn't need or deserve any special treatment.

"You're right. I really don't." The fact that Yang was the one drafted to wheel me out didn't make things any easier. A great resident she may be; but her bedside manner, hell-any type of manner, was sorely lacking.

Racing down the hall from behind us at top speed was Meredith Grey. She slowed down her pace once she noticed us.

"Hey, Callie."

"Hey."

"Glad to be finally getting out of here, huh?"

"Don't you know it."

"Where you off to in such a hurry?" The scalpel hungry animal smelled a possible surgery in the air.

"Incoming trauma. I'm on Owen's service today."

"Good for you. Have fun." Cristina didn't really mean it.

"Of course. Meet me in the caf for lunch?"

"Yeah, sure."

"See you, then." And off she was to the nearest elevator. "Bye, Callie!"

"Later."

"Hmph. I wish I had a surgery to run to."

"But, you don't. So, you're stuck with me 'til we get to the lobby, Yang. You got the rest of the day to brown nose Dr. Altman all you want."

"God, what's got your panties all in a bunch? I thought you were pretty much over the chicken pox."

"Your charm is starting to rub off on me. And not in a good way."

"Sucks to be you right now."

"Every moment I spend with you." To the outside world, one would think we never got along at all. This was just how my room mate and I communicated. I loved her to death, even when she got on my last nerve.

We waited patiently for the elevator to reach our floor. As the doors opened, I witnessed a lovely sight before me. Arizona stepped off, armed with dimples. I was surprised to see that she was dressed in her regular clothes. She had on the aqua blue top I bought for her as a Christmas gift. It really bought out the color in her eyes.

"Hey!" She leaned down to kiss me. In the back of my mind, I sensed Cristina being repulsed by our very public display of affection. I never said anything about seeing Owen nearly chew her face off, so she should have shown us the same respect. "I was just coming to get you. I'll take it from here, Dr. Yang."

"Oh, thank God." Cristina never ceased to amaze me with how she managed to turn being callous into an art form.

"See you at home, Yang." Arizona wheeled me onto the elevator.

"I'm spending the night at Owen's. Something tells me you two will be needing plenty of privacy."

"Thank you!" Smiling naughtily from ear to ear, I gave Cristina two thumbs up. "You're the best!"

"Bite me." Cristina surprisingly gave me a friendly smirk right before the elevator doors shut.

"That's some room mate you got there."

"Yeah, she's something alright. So, you're not working today?"

"I cashed in some of my personal days." She kneeled down behind my wheelchair. "Soooo, I have the next. Three. Days. Off." Each of her last words were punctuated by a kiss; starting from behind my ear, descending towards my neck. Slowly, she reached around me and cupped my breasts, confirming Cristina's suspicions that we would be needing some privacy.

"Uh uh." As much as it pained me to do so, I removed myself from Arizona's clutches. Looking somewhat confused as to why I did that, my girlfriend began to pout. Knowing good and well that just killed me every time I saw her do that, I would end up letting her have her way. And eventually she would, just not the moment. "Slow down, tiger. There'll be plenty of time for that when we get home. We're almost at the lobby. It's no secret we're a couple, but we don't have to give the whole entire hospital a show."

"Yeah, true." She wrapped her arms around me, giving me an affectionate nudge before planting her chin on my shoulder. Our cheeks were gently pressed against one another. "I just been dying to have some time alone with you." Arizona's voice dropped down to a sexy whisper. "I never did get to show you what my cure for a headache was."

I bit my lip in anticipation. Why was she doing this to me? We were seriously on the verge of giving the elevator scene in Fatal Attraction a run for its money.

"What if I don't have a headache?"

"I have a good feeling you'd want to know what it is anyway."

I was in full on blush mode, to the point I was fanning myself silly. The elevator bell rang, signalling our arrival at the hospital lobby. Regaining my composure, I cleared my throat as my girlfriend wheeled me towards the exit. Striding confidently towards us was Mark's oldest, dearest friend and Meredith's better half, Dr. Derek Sheppard. He had an old school movie star vibe going on, which probably earned him the nickname "McDreamy."

"Good afternoon, Dr. Robbins. Dr. Torres, I didn't know having chicken pox required having a wheelchair when you were discharged." His remark came off kind of smug, but I knew him well enough to tell that he was just messing with me.

"I didn't think so either, but somebody insisted on babying me today."

"Guilty as charged." Arizona raised her hand as if she being called on in class.

He smiled and let out a hearty chuckle. "Go easy on her. Let her take care of you."

"I will." Giving us both a grin and a nod, Sheppard continued on his way. I stood up and stretched. I felt like I had been sitting in that wheelchair for days.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Arizona sounded all panicky, like she was witnessing me commit a crime.

"Hello, we're in the lobby. I can walk out the exit, you know."

"Oh, well. If you insist." She sounded so defeated.

"Don't you dare pout again."

"I'm not pouting." She spotted Nurse Tyler, waving him over to take the wheelchair somewhere it was really needed. Arizona took me by the hand and led me out of the hospital. Being isolated all week, I relished being out in the sun. My mind was entertaining dirty thoughts, trying to unlock the mystery of what my girlfriend had in store for me once we got home. She stopped a few feet short of the parking lot. I turned towards her. A look of sadness washed over her face.

"Ari?" She didn't respond. "Ari, baby, what's wrong?"

Finally looking me in the eye, she gestured towards the nearest bench. "Calliope, have a seat. There's something I need to tell you."

Arizona released my hand once we sat down, maintaining a slight gap in between us. Her sadness started resemble to guilt. She couldn't even look me in the eye. I had a strong feeling about what she had to say to me, but I wasn't entirely sure. I couldn't read her at the moment. Her legs crossed very lady like, my girlfriend gripped the edge of the bench as if her life depended on it.

"Ari, sweetie, you're really starting to scare me now. Please, say something. What did you have to tell me?"

"I lied." I was relieved that she finally broke her silence. But at the same, I was very disappointed about what I just heard. "I lied about not having the chicken pox."

"I kind of figured that."

"You did?"

"Hello?! I'm a doctor, too! You didn't think I wouldn't!"

"I'm so sor...."

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I...I don't know. I just...freaked out."

"You freaked out? That's best you could come up with? You freaked out!"

"I'm sorry, Calliope."

"Don't you 'Calliope' me! Not now!"

"I'm so sorry! I freaked out because I didn't know if I could handle seeing you sick like that!"

"That doesn't even make any fuckin' sense! You've seen me at my worst already! You were there after Erica dumped me. You were there when my family turned their backs on me and my father took away my trust fund!" I paused to catch my breath. "You were there when George died. All those times, you've been my rock! I get sick, and all the sudden you run in the opposite direction! I don't get it, Arizona! I don't get it all! What? What is it then? Are you getting tired of me?"

"No!"

"Do you wanna break up with me?"

"What? No! Calliope, I love you! But, you need to calm down. Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?"

"I'm just trying to understand why my girlfriend decided to lie to me."

Arizona took a moment to gather her thoughts. Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled in hopes of relieving the tension she felt inside. She then turned towards me, her expression being serious yet compassionate. I've witnessed her doing that dozens of times since we've been together. It was her pre-speech ritual.

"We're in a good place right now. Excluding this moment, of course. And one of the best parts about our relationship is that you're always the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I go to sleep. Whenever you enter a room, I always stop what I'm doing and focus all my attention on you. You just have this way about you, I can't describe it. It's magical. I just want to take it all in every chance I get. And let's not even mention the things we do whenever we have a moment to ourselves." I tried so hard not to blush when she said that. I was still furious with her for lying, but every word she said soothed the anger way. "Call me superficial, but I freaked out because thought that the chicken pox was going take that all away. I thought the sexy time of our relationship was going to come to an end if I saw you like that. I couldn't have been more wrong. You're just as miraculous then as you are now."

"Damn."

"What?"

"Ari..." I was completely at a loss for words. "Woman...you...you should've be a politician."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I was student council president two years in a row back in high school." She laced her fingers in between mine as they rested on the bench. "And, on top of that, captain of the cheerleader squad."

"I could definitely see that. You totally fit the mold." I leaned forward to plant a kiss on her lips, assuring her that all was forgiven. "I love you, Ari. I really do. And I apologize for overreacting. But, you have to promise me something."

"Of course, I will. What is it?"

"You have to promise me that you'll never lie to me again. You know my history. You know that certain situations I've been through have made a little extra sensitive about that. So please, promise me that you won't ever do that to me again. Not even a white lie."

"I promise." I leaned in to give my girlfriend another kiss. But, she put her hand up right before my lips touched hers. "Wait. Before we go any further, you have to promise me something, too."

"What is it?" I was confused, but whatever she would ask of me, I'd agree to.

"You have to promise me that you won't let Mark or anybody else, man or woman, give you a massage."

"Already taken care of."

"Really?"

"I had a feeling that it bothered you. Mark even offered to do it again, but I turned him down. You know, I never pegged you to be the jealous type."

"What? I'm not jealous."

"It's okay if you are."

"I repeat, I am not jealous. Least of all, of Mark Sloan. I know that's your best friend, and all. But if you were to put him against all this awesomeness right here, he will surely lose."

I couldn't help but giggle. "Well, it's never going to come to that. You don't have anything to worry about." I leaned in again to give Arizona a kiss, which she gladly accepted.

"I know. It's just that I don't like the idea of anybody else having their hands on you like that." She leaned towards me to return the favor. "You're mine."

"I didn't know we were back in the Stone Age." Even though I was completely turned on that she said that, it wouldn't be me if I didn't talk smack. "I still think you're jealous."

"I'm not!"

Realizing it was time to switch tactics, my free hand began to caress Arizona's thigh. "For the record, I happen to find jealousy insanely hot". Then I went in for the kill, as I began kissing on her neck.

"Okay, okay." I pulled back, wearing a victorious grin on my face. "You win, you win. I was a teensy bit jealous. Just a little bit. Satisfied?"

"Not quite." As I rose up from the bench, Arizona once again looked perplexed. I extended my hand towards her. "I would be, if we finish we started in the on-call room the other day."

"As you wish."

Quickly, we made our way back home to enjoy our privacy.


End file.
